Biodiversity Journal, 2020, 11 (2): 405–434 https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2020.11.2.401.434 Endemism in Italian Orthoptera Bruno Massa1 & Paolo Fontana2* 1Department Agriculture, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Italy (retired); email:
[email protected] 2Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Italy *Corresponding author, email:
[email protected] ABSTRACT The present paper discusses about the distribution of orthopterans endemic to Italy. This coun- try is located in the centre of the Mediterranean Basin and its palaeo-geographical origins are owed to complex natural phenomena, as well as to a multitude of centres-of-origin, where colonization of fauna and flora concerned. Out of 382 Orthoptera taxa (i.e., species and sub- species) known to occur in Italy, 160 (41.9%) are endemic. Most of them are restricted to the Alps, the Apennines or the two principal islands of Italy (i.e., Sardinia and Sicily). In addition, lowland areas in central-southern Italy host many endemic taxa, which probably originate from the Balkan Peninsula. In Italy, the following 8 genera are considered endemic: Sardoplatycleis, Acroneuroptila, Italopodisma, Epipodisma, Nadigella, Pseudoprumna, Chorthopodisma and Italohippus. Moreover, the subgenus Italoptila is endemic to Italy. For research regarding endemism, Orthoptera are particularly interesting because this order com- prises species characterized by different ecological traits; e.g., different dispersal abilities, contrasting thermal requirements or specific demands on their habitats. The highest percentage of apterous or micropterous (35.3%) and brachypterous (16.2%) endemic taxa live in the Apennines, which are among the most isolated mountains of the Italian Peninsula.